Saturday 13 November 2010

***Breaking News*** Burma's Suu Kyi Is Realeased !!!




Yes at 10:30 GMT today 'The Lady' was finally released for 15 of the past 21 years of house arrest.

We are all very keen to hear what she will have to say tomorrow after announcing that she will speak out tomorrow (sunday) at 12 noon after she has visited the NLD office in Rangoon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11749661

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1329375/Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-released-15-years-house-arrest.html

Monday 13 September 2010

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

*** DUE TO THE OBVIOUS SITUATION IN PAKISTAN AT THE MOMENT, THIS EXPEDITION IS UNABLE TO PROCEED THIS SIDE OF 2010…***

We are all so sad to see this dream get postponed, but despite your wonderful generosity, current circumstances mean it is impossible for us to complete our route. Our window of opportunity closes in November and we have therefore been forced to postpone leaving until September 2011.

The High Commission have insisted we do not attempt to pass through en route to India due to the current situation regarding flooding, food, clean water and the outbreaks of cholera.

We have informed them of our route plans and in return they informed us that the dry, desert areas such as Balochistan now contain 12 million homeless people whom are starving.

We would inevitably become instant targets and our safety could be jeopardised. We feel that it would be foolish to carry on as we are and enter ourselves into this current unstable environment.

Our contact in Islamabad says 29 bridges are down and most roads have turned into soft silt tracks.

We are all deeply disappointed.

The First Overland 2010 team.

Sunday 5 September 2010

Unforeseable Problems

No, sadly we have not departed yet.

We are awaiting Iranian visa's still but the real problem lies in Pakistan.

Everybody who has heard the news or read the papers will know a large part of the Punjab and more, is severely under water at the moment. Now for us that is not too much of a problem as we are in Land Rovers and they are capable of fording through up to two foot of water safely. The problem is the displaced country men and the issue with the military.

The Pakistani high commission in London has advised us against all but essential travel and we would not want to arrive at the border only to be turned back.

The military fact is that as the military are working as hard as they can at the moment trying to keep the situation under control, they are not able to offer us an escort through Baluchistan or a safe place to stay in Karachi, which is understandable.

The main issue though as the team sees it is not all of this but what the poor, starving Pakistani people will do for just some food or clean water - i.e. an ambush. We have just had some news come in from a friend in Islamabad and he informs us that where there was once arid, empty countryside it is now full of starving families that have had their homes and lively hoods washed away by mother nature.

He tells us that these people are desperate and will do anything to get a drink or some food. So the team feels it is unwise to depart until the situation improves. We cannot risk being ambushed or having our Land Rover ransacked or even stolen.

We have arranged to meet with Cambridge University tomorrow to discuss our plans and from there will we will decide on a departure date which is at the moment set to be October 2nd. Watch this space!

Sorry for the bad news but our safety must come first.

F/O team

Monday 16 August 2010

Oxford & Cambridge go to Brazil

It's with interest that i have come across the account of the 1956/7 Oxford & Cambridge expedition to South America.

The report has been typed up on a type writer and is in old fashioned purple ink. After some further digging I have discovered that there is also a British Pathe film of the expedition in Colour!

Some of the images shown in the film are quite simply amazing and its amazing to think that just 50 years ago there were still so many native tribes living with out human interference.

The account also refers to the lost city of El Dorado (Lost City of Gold) and Sir Walter Raleigh's explorations.

Of course the expedition naturally used Land Rovers, three this time and the going looks just as tough as when the 1955 team passed through Burma.

Another report goes into my Oxford and Cambridge archive

Amazing...

Monday 9 August 2010

The Cost...

Our expedition budget comes to a grand total of £33331

To date we have raised £12000 by funding it ourselves.

Our £7000 petrol costs have kindly been sponsored by the Land Rover Series One Club http://www.lrsoc.com/ which takes our total funds raised up to £19000.

This leaves us with £14331 to raise (or to recieve goods in kind)

Due to this quite dramatic lack of funds we have decided to put the departure date back by two weeks. This means we need to raise (or recieve goods to the value of) £2500 per week. Yes it may seem alot but remember we have had no commercial help with this expedition (except for the vehicle restorations) and we have come this far so we are not giving up now.

We do not understand why sponsors are not interested in helping this epic trip depart and be completed but that is how it is so its down to us to self-fund it.

Please help us to reach our goal of £14k, if you want something in return please email us with your ideas.

The clock is really ticking now.

Thursday 22 July 2010

Second Generation Glasses - Part 1

Yes, they have arrived!

Oxford Universities Centre For Vision in The Developing World has successfully designed and manufactured the "Second Generation" glasses that not only do away with a fluid filled lens design but they have also managed to make them look 21st century style.

The original first generation was a very successful design. 38000 pairs went to Afghanistan with many, many more going to Africa. The new target is India. www.vdw.ox.ac.uk/adspecs.htm

It has been the expedition’s ambition to partner ourselves with the Centre for one reason. We are set to be spending up to six weeks in India, mainly the North East carrying out tasks for our sponsored charity FutureSence Foundation. http://www.futuresence.co.uk/ However after discovering through an ex team member there was a small university project crying out for help we decided to out line some plans to see if we could assist in some way.

We went along to chat with Owen, the man overseeing the project and we have agreed to dedicate a portion of our 6 week stay to distributing these new glasses which can be seen here www.eyejusters.com/media , we have been donated 200 pairs but we would like to double, even triple that. How we plan to do this is to offer people wishing to watch this expedition succeed a chance to sponsor a pair at £20. After we have distributed all of the glasses we will be asking the Indian community to fill out a specially designed questionnaire, which will then be returned to Oxford. This questionnaire contains information that is invaluable to the Centre, it will enable them to further their research into poor eye sight and to hopefully in the long run, eradicate blindness.

Please contact us if you would like to sponsor a pair. Thank You F/O 2010

Friday 9 July 2010

Land Rover Worldwide

Exciting news!

We have started correspondeance with the Land Rover dealers in Singapore and are looking at making their showroom our final destination.

We are currently in talks with them about giving presentations and talks once we arrive and putting our two trusty series ones in their show room for the duration of our stay whilst in Singapore.

So if anybody if in Singapore in early February 2011 please pop by to see us.

We are also still trying to establish a relationship with Tata. Sadly the University of Cambridge here in the uk has insisted we do this with out their help, I think its due to health and safty. Should we run into trouble they don't want to be seen as a figure who encouraged us to pass through 'risky' places such as Iran and Myanmar (Burma). Shame.

Nether the less we proceed with our heads held high fighting on.

p.s if aby body reading this thinks they can offer any help with our Tata issue please do not hesitate to contact us.

Michael

Wednesday 30 June 2010

Ripon - Update

I think its safe to say every one has now recovered from driving to Ripon and back. although I think the whir of the road against our tyres is a noise people wont forget in a hurry (no they are not cross plies)

When I finally arrived home and pulled into our drive, after seeing every one off, I decided to make a few phone calls before unpacking the Land Rover to let people know we had made it, however when I did get round to pushing every thing out of Cambridge, I discovered every single person had left some thing behind, amazing.

I think Marie Claire will have a nice surprise when she receive's the parcel arrive from me with her book in (a tale to perhaps be told later)

any way a few pictures of the Ripon event can be found here, sorry there are not more of us. http://www.lrsoc.com/forum/index.php?topic=2747.msg38831;topicseen#new

Monday 28 June 2010

Preliminary Shakedown

An eventful weekend indeed.

The F/O team have just completed thier first 'test' trip in one of the series ones.

We departed from Cambridge at 09:00 on saturday morning and drove 200 miles north to Ripon in Yorkshire, stopping in Peterborough to collect another team member. We were heading to the Land Rover Series One Club rally which was being held at Ripon race course.

After a fuel stop and coffee with a friend at Wetherby services we arrived at 2pm with our friend and his expedition prepared vehicle in tow.

People surged to meet us and we didn't get unpacked until about 8pm, before realising we didn't have any food and the clubs buffet dinner was fully booked (we had planned to dine with the club for the first night)

John and i went shopping - ouch £££ and the others set up the dining area just in time, as the heavens opened almost instantly after we had finished eating. After an eventful 'nights sleep' we rose fairly early and set up our pitch for day two.

We could not have asked for better weather and the people who offered their help and services was amazing, also thanks for the donations, they were much appreciated.

By the time i arrived home the land rovers speedometer had just clicked over 450 miles. Not bad going in two days i thought with 4 people on board and their luggage.

It was an eye opener!

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Happy Birthday Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Saturday was a day for celebrations in Myanmar (Burma), It was Daw Suu's 65th Birthday.

However while people took the time to que along University Avenue, to pass on there regards Daw Suu, like for fifteen previous years spent it under house arrest with her two companions. A very low key celebration was accepted.

She has spent fifteen of the last twenty-one years under house arrest.

To pay respect, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a special program that looked back on Suu Kyi's life and asked what the future may have in store for the Great Lady and Myanmar.

It can be heard here via the liten again facility or downloaded as a podcast.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sq2n1

Saturday 5 June 2010

Donations - Wow

We would just like to say a big thank you to all of those who have donated to the expediton thus far via http://www.justgiving.com/firstoverland2010

Our account has been running for just about a week now and we are already up to £600.00, its just amazing.

Thank You.

Friday 4 June 2010

A Birthday

Today is the birthday of the Expeditions Mechanic, Michael Geary. He is 23.


Joyeux Anniversaire Michael......

I came across this photo this afternoon whilst doing some googl'ing and i think its worth a posting. It reminded me of First Overland 1955 when they were in Malaya.


Turkish Delights

Those closely involved with our expeditions plannnig will know we have had a great deal of help from the Oxford Based company Uk to Oz.

Uk to Oz are a company that offer a pre planned overland trip to Austraila. They drive almost the exact same route that we will be taking but have never succeeded in getting permission to drive into Myanmar. (Burma), they came very close once but didn't quite achieve it. http://www.uktooz.com/28_week_trek.html

They have helped us out with issues such as Iran and answered our many, many questions on how will fend - to my amazement they said if you ignore people and keep hiden away like the FCO advises you would be more likley to experiance problems. They said when in Iran wind-down your windows and try to chat to people as they will just be curious as to why two brightly colourd Land Rovers are passing through their town. Obviously one must be alert and aware at all times.

Uk to Oz set off in April 2010 and an online diary can be found here http://www.uktooz.com/

Wednesday 2 June 2010

The Sites of Syria

Syria is a country in which i am particularly keen to visit and explore.

It is a county cram packed with history and archecture. I am looking forward to spending hours just wandering around the massive crusader castles and ancient ruins to which there are plenty. For a taster i have put together a brief summary of what I hope to see.



Homs is the 3rd most important city in Syria. It lies 160 km to the north of Damascus. Homs, which was called Mesa in ancient times, was the third station on the Silk route after Dura Europos and Palmyra.

Unfortunately, ancient earthquakes destroyed many buildings and citadels in Homs. There remains only one citadel in the south of the city with its Damascus and Palmyra gates.




Palmyra (Tadmor in Arabic) is in the heart of Syrian Desert, and is often described as the bride of the desert. Its magnificent remains tell of a heroic history during the reign of Queen Zenobia.

The Oasis, as it is sometimes called, is located near a hot-water spring called Afqa, which make it an ideal halt for caravans moving between Iraq and Al-Sham (present day Syria, Lebanon, Holy Land and Jordan), trading in silk from China to the Mediterranean. This strategic location made Palmyra prosper in a well-established kingdom from the 2nd century BC.

After Romans conquered Syria, Palmyra flourished and became known as city of palm-trees. When Emperor Adrian visited Palmyra, he declared it a free city; in return, people of Palmyra gratefully called their city Adrianapalmyra.
Homs is the 3rd most important city in Syria. It lies 160 km to the north of Damascus.



Hama has been settled since the early Iron Age. In book of Joshua, Hama is mentioned at the time when the land was divided up between the 12 tribes. It is also mentioned in Kings II as the source for the settlers the Assyrians moved into Samaria, after depopulating the cities of Holy land.



Crac des Chevaliers was built on the site of a former castle erected by the Emirs of Homs to accommodate Kurdish garrisons; Crac is a modification of the Arab word Qal'a, which means citadel. The citadel covers an area of 3000 square meters and has 13 huge towers, in addition to many stores, tanks, corridors, bridges and stables. It can accommodate 5000 soldiers with their horses, their equipment and provisions for five years.

The most famous medieval citadel in the world, Crac des Chevaliers (Qal'at Al-Hosn in Arabic) is 65 km west of Homs and 75 km south-east of Tartus.

It was built in order to control the so-called "Homs Gap", the gateway to Syria. It was through this passage that Syria communicated with the Mediterranean.
Hama, situated between Homs and Aleppo on banks of the Orontes river, is an important agricultural and industrial center. Except for Damascus, Hama is considered the most picturesque city in Syria and one may wish to take time to relax in its attractive gardens along river banks.



St. Simeon is a citadel 60 km north west of Aleppo, named after the hermit Saint Simeon (Sam'an); a shepherd from northern Syria, who became a monk after a revelation in a dream.

Following his death in 459 AD, Emperor Zenon ordered that a cathedral be built where the saint used to pray.
The layout was original, centering on the famous column from which St. Simeon used to preach. Four basilicas, arranged in the shape of a cross, opened into an octagon covered by a dome, in the center of which stood the holy column. A simplicity and harmony combine to make ruins of the Basilica of St. Simon a masterpiece of pre-Islamic art in Syria.

St. Simeon of Stylites, whilst raising himself up on his pillar of self-persecution could never have guessed the elevation to be experienced by church construction 500 to 600 years later.



Aleppo is the second capital of Syria 350 km north of Damascus, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in history. Abraham (pbuh) is said to have camped on the acropolis which, long before his time, served as the foundation of a fortress where the Aleppo citadel is standing now. He milked his grey cow there, hence Aleppo's name "Halab Al-Shahba".

Ever since the 3rd millennium BC, Aleppo has been a flourishing city, with a unique strategic position. This position gave the city a distinctive role from the days of the Akkadian and Amorite kingdoms until modern times.

To the west of the city, stands the Mudiq citadel, which once formed a defense line along the Orontes.
Fierce battles with Crusaders attempting to conquer it took place in the 12th century, and Nour Eddin finally surrendered it in 1149.
In the Ottoman age, Aleppo remained an important center of trade with Turkey, France, England and Holland. This caused various types of European architecture to be adopted in Aleppo which can be seen in many buildings today.

Nowadays, Aleppo is famous for its ancient citadel with medieval fortress, the great Umayyad mosque, and the extraordinary souqs (bazaars) with every conceivable kind of article for sale. It was and still the far distant trade center when Shakespeare mentioned it in Macbeth and Othello.

The old city was surrounded by a wall incorporating defense towers and fortified gates built during the Islamic period. A large part of the wall still standing.

The Archaeological Museum of Aleppo contains exhibits from the stone age to modern times.




Damascus, the capital of Syria, is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It has occupied a position of importance in the fields of science, culture, politics, art commerce, and industry from the earliest times. It has been called Al-Fayha'a (the fragrant city), Al-Sham, Jollaq, and Pearl of Orient as Emperor Julian named it.

Damascus became capital of the first Arab state at time of the Umayyads in 661 AD. This marked the beginning of its golden epoch, and for a whole century it was the center of the youthful Islamic Empire. This reached its peak of expansion during this period, and came to stretch from shores of Atlantic and Pyrennese in west, to river Indus and China in east. Umayyads took a genuine interest in building up Damascus, organizing its souqs (bazaars) and districts, improving its water supply, erecting palaces, and hospitals.

Nowadays, Damascus is a living museum spanning thousands of years. A city measuring time not by hours, days, months, and years but by empires it has seen rise and crumble to ruin.
Apamea is located on the right bank of the Orontes river about 55 km to the north west of Hama. It overlooks the Ghab valley and was built by Seleucus Nicator, the first king of the Seleucids in Syria in 300 BC. He named it after his parisian wife, Afamea.

The city flourished to an extent that its population numbered half a million. As an Eastern crossroads, it received many distinguished visitors: Cleopetra, Septimus Severus and the Emperor Caracalla. In the Christian era, Apamea became a center of philosophy and thought, especially of Monophostism.
Most of the uncovered ruins in it date back to the Roman and Byzantine ages. It is distinguished for its high walls and the main thoroughfare surrounded by columns with twisted fluting. The street is 1850 meters long and 87 meters wide. The ruins of the Roman theater which have been frequently disturbed, are now a great mass of stone.

Its colonnade (The Cardo Maximus) is 145 meters long. Erected in the 2nd century, it was destroyed in the 12th century by two violent earthquakes; some columns are still standing nevertheless.

And after all that site seeing im assured that there is nothing better to do than to find a shady spot so one can sit and sip at an ice cold beer or loli-pop but it will have to be consumed quick as the heat will be above 100 degreese farenheight - however the nights spent camping in the dunes will be cold.....

Saturday 29 May 2010

The English desire for Tea





I dont think there is anyone on this planet who adores a hot cup of tea more than us English!


Wether it be sugary and strong, black or milky morning tea we love it. It's one of the things that, no matter what the situation tea will always help you to relax. But lets look further back than just a packet on a supermarkets shelf.


Tea first appeared as a beverage in England in the 17th Century. But it was Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford who, in the early 1800's launched the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between luncheon and dinner, which in fashionable circles might not be served until 8 o'clock at night. This fashionable custom soon evolved into high tea among the working classes, where this late afternoon repast became the main meal of the day.


The problem was it took so long to get to England from the Far east so the East India Company was given a monopoly on the tea trade in 1832,. They realized the need to cut the time of this journey. The Americans actually designed the first "clippers", or streamlined, tall-masted vessels, but the British were close behind. These clippers sped along at nearly 18 knots by contemporary accounts - nearly as fast as a modern ocean liner.


So great was the race for speed that an annual competition was begun for clippers to race from the Canton River to the London Docks. The first ship to unload its cargo won the captain and crew a hefty bonus. The most famous of the clipper ships was the Cutty Sark, built in 1868. It only made the tea run eight times, but for its era it was a remarkable ship. The Cutty Sark is now on exhibition at Greenwich.


So we now know how it arrived here but where abouts exactly in the East was it coming from.


India of course. India is one of the largest producer of Tea. Indulging the workforce of more than 2 millions, Tea production in India constitutes a major building block of Indian economy. The rich greenery and natural surroundings prevailing all over in East, North-East and South region of the country nourish plenty of lush green tea plantation area. Assam Tea Gardens Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri, the three Tea growing region, are world famous for its quality of Tea as well as the natural beauty of its Tea plantation area.


And it is one tea estate in particular which is of significant interest to us.










Back in 1955 the Far Eastern Expedition wrote to the managing director or Brooke Bond Tea, who at the time were acting as a paralell government in India. They explained their need to camp some where near to the Burmese border so they could lighten their loads before tackling the un-known Ledo Road. Brooke bond wrote back and said they would be very welcome to stay at their main tea estate in Assam, the Dhekiajuli estate.

So just after New Years in 1956, 6 chilly students rode up outside the main gates and entered into the grand gardens. They were shown to a spacious, quiet spot which had been espically chosen for them.


This picture was taken at the estate and was titled 'Far Eastern Expedition, last seen in Assam preparing for Burma'.

Today Tata has invested heavily into the Tea trade and owns a great deal of estates.



Our interest lies with the original estate and it just so happens that this estate today is run by Tata, details of which can be seen here. http://www.tatatea.com/nipd.htm



Our aim is to re-create this photo on the same tea estate using similar kit.

We hope that with a little persuasion we will be invited to stay here so we too can relax and drink plenty of hot tea before we tackle the Ledo Road fifty-five years on.



Will it even still exist ?????



This image reflects the number of estates Tata own today.

Modern - Period Kit




The expedition kit list is as would be expected - very basic.


Because our Land Rovers are small short wheel base versions we only have a small ammount of space to spare. As would be expected though we are taking more kit than the original team did, mainly because back in 1955 the students and all done national service so if you like were 'used to roughing it abit'. We however like our creature comforts, its amazing what differance it can have on peoples patients by just having say a small fan blowing on you in +100 heat. Small items like this, which are pratical we see as 'must have'


You must bare in mind in 1955 'in car' fans would have been unheard of along with such items like Lorry grade air horns and solar showers.


We are however doing some things in style.


These cookers and lamps for instance http://www.hurricanelamps.co.uk/ are brand new period items and will no doubt be able to stand up to the heights of modern technology. These lamps are small, handy and no different to the modern camping 'primus' stoves like you so often see in ex-army stores, its just they look cute.


So who's going to put the kettle on 1st......

Friday 28 May 2010

Breaking News -

A passenger train has de-railed in Eastern India killing many on its passengers.

So far the body count is up to 65 with 200 more seriously injured and this number is still rising

The crash happened 90 miles west of Kolkata (Calcutta, Bengal state) and is believed to have had maoists involvment as there was evidance the tracks had been cut, this has not been prooved yet as correct.

The train was enroute to the Mumbai (Bombay) suburb of Kurla when 13 rail cars derailed. A cargo train then slammed into three of the cars from the opposite direction.

All drivers (train) have been ordered to pass slowley through the region advising them to keep an eye out for sabotaged tracks or bombs, in part so the effects of a crash are lessend if a train does de-rail.


In other news its 20 years to the day that the Burmese National League for Democracy won an overwhelming number of seats in the 1990 elections.
The military regime refused to transfer power and the country is today still run by the ruling Junta.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the parties front lady has been imprisioned for 14 of the last 20 years, she was due to be released in May 2010 however after an Americian man (John Yettaw) swam across the lake to her home she is being held for inviting a stranger into her home,. Many believe this was a set up to keep her shut away and out of citizens minds.

The military supremo Snr Gen Than Shwe has since announed that in October this year (2010) the first crediable elections will be held since 1990.
Asean, the UN, the USA and the Burma Campaign have all called for the electons to be "Free and Fair", if they are not the results will not be recognised and the genuine political dialogue cannot and will not begin.

Monday 24 May 2010

Charitable Aims

First Overland 2010 has a 3 part plan

The first part of our plan is obvious, we are to follow in the 1955 expeditions footsteps.

The second part of of plan will span the vast area between Iran and Thailand. We will be distributing a number of specially designed glasses for the third world. These glasses have been specially designed with retractable lenses. This means they can be adjusted to suit each individuals needs and the best part is that they can be adjusted by the user with no need of a pediatrician. We will be carrying out research for Professor Silver, the glasses inventor, to see how viable these glasses are in Asia and to see how people take to them. www.vdw.ox.ac.uk

The third part of our plan involves the Futuresence charity. www.futuresence.co.uk/ourCharity.aspx
We have merged our expedition in with the Future Sence foundation so that whislt we are in India, the country we intend to carry out a 6 week study into the glasses, we will be able to work under an already established circle of people offering help, the Future Sence charity has a basecamp in the North East. We are looking at basing this study in the North East as its a part of India often forgotten about and we feel needs some assistance. Merging our expedition with the foundation has enabled us to gain Charitable Status and it also means that any donations we recieve, fifty percent will go directly to the foundation enabling them to futher their projects such like the one in India.

We have set up a donation page where people can pledge money to help us achieve our goals. www.justgiving.com/firstoverland2010

The OxCam First Overland 2010 Team

Saturday 22 May 2010

Mr Ratan Tata Coming to Cambridge

The expedition has been informed that Mr Ratan Tata is coming to Cambridge on June 21st. This puts us just under a month away from his visit.

We are pulling out all the stops to get to meet this gentleman.

We have already been to the Cambridge Expedition Counsil and explained the importance, we feel to have Tata involved with this expedition i.e our Glasses project incorporated into the Tata Social Entrepreneurship Scheme set up by Helen Haugh of the Judge Business School, Cambridge, this would just put the icing on our cake as it were.

To have Tata on board would also make our charity project in North East India more feesable as we would hopefully be able to stay at the Tata Tea estate in Dibrugarah where we will set our selves up a sort of home from home and get prepared for the next leg. BURMA.

More on the Tata Scheme can be read here: http://www.india.jbs.cam.ac.uk/engagement/tises/projects.html

Friday 2 April 2010

What's Buzzin, Cuzzin?

What might things have sounded like in 1955?

With a bit of research, I have dug up the two Number One singles in the weeks that the 1955 First Overland Expedition both departed, and arrived home.

Perhaps it would have been the sweet sounds of Slim Whitman playing as the convoy rolled out of London. His 'Rose Marie' was not only Number One that week, it was also the biggest selling single of 1955:



And maybe, the tune that greeted the group as they returned would have been Doris Day's 'Que Sera Sera', which was top of the pops in August 1956 - what a blast!:

Thursday 1 April 2010

Stomach Bugs, Water filtration. 2010 vs 1955.

Tim Slessor's 'First Overland' tells of a remarkable feat: allegedly the First Overland team didn't lose a single day of their expedition due to poor health. Not one day in just under a year of travelling across some of the least developed parts of the world. The things I'd do to make our own expedition so lucky...

Luck, of course, had little to do with it. The First Overland team cooked most of their own meals, and though something of an inconvenience, such thrift probably insulated them from the nastier bugs that might otherwise have made themselves unwanted guests in the 'Oxford' and 'Cambridge' Land Rovers. Credit must also go to 'BB' for being a scrupulous guide to the expedition on all matters medical.

So the First Overland team boiled their own water, avoided raw fruit and vegetables like the plague, and were judiciously overseen by a chemistry graduate masquerading as a doctor. I have no doubt that Chao (our own, qualified, Doctor) will bring scientific rigour to the expedition's hygiene: but will this be enough in 2010? Though we hope to emulate the First Overland expedition in our route, our vehicles, and our 'principles', I can't help but think back to a recently (ruined) trip to Venice when I caught a nasty stomach bug that left me incapacitated for days. And I can barely leave Surrey without noticing a change in the water...

Marie-Claire has already offered some of her own advice on the matter: eat natural yoghurt. But I'm not convinced. That sounds a little too much like 1955 for my liking. I have a constitution of vastly inferior fortitude, and unpasteurised product of a cow (or yak, goat, sheep...) seems liable to induce illness rather than prevent it. Yoghurt seems a risky strategy in my book. So how can one turn the odds against the bugs?

Enter 2010. Enter technology. Enter the Steripen.

The Steripen is a technological marvel that (I hope...) will give us the upper hand against 99.999% viruses, bacteria, microbes and general nasties. As I'm not trying to turn this blog into an exercise in product placement (that is, of course, unless anyone would care to donate equipment or funds to our expedition...), I should mention there are several popular, award winning, innovative alternatives out there (e.g. the LifeSaver ). But I've decided to place myself under the UV care of the Steripen, and having seen the videos, read the reviews, and been given the sales pitch by a gap year student in an outdoor equipment store, I have high expectations for this minitature microbe-zapping light sabre. And if it doesn't perform as desired, I'll definitely be publishing my extended thoughts on the matter.

Being a total kit-geek, the Steripen is just one of the many marvels of the 21st century I plan to champion on this blog and on the expedition itself. But there's an important point to be found buried underneath this personal technology-kit-fetish.

If you're reading this blog post you almost certainly take good eyesight for granted. As we feel particularly strongly about vision, the First Overland 2010 team have chosen to partner with GV2020 and the Oxford Centre for Vision in the Developing World in promoting, testing and distributing their latest technology in self-adjustable eyeglasses. Focussing on the visual problems affecting the communities we pass through, we hope to champion their technological innovation - a product we believe will make a profound and lasting difference to the developing world. Though we look back to 1955 in preparing for our authentic re-trace, we are at heart a forward looking expedition - spreading the technology of 2010 in hope of a brighter future.

So how is this related to water, or to stomach bugs? Well if you're reading this blog post you probably take clean water for granted too. Just as is the case for visual refractive error, the lack of clean, safe drinking water constitutes a major and tragic impediment to development efforts worldwide. It is estimated that 1.1 Billion people lack good, clean water supplies. 2.7 Billion have no access to proper sanitation.

To me, the Steripen looks like a cool piece of kit - something that will hopefully save me from an having an uncomfortable time during our expedition to Singapore. But to that 1.1 billion people, technological innovations like the Lifesaver Jerrycan really can be life savers, and that's something worth remembering.

Monday 29 March 2010

History Lesson


It would be one of the longest of all overland journeys, from the English Channel to Singapore. Several expeditions had already tried. Some had got as far as the deserts of Persia; a few had even reached the plains of India. But no-one had managed to go on from there: over the jungle-clad mountains of Assam and across northern Burma to Thailand and Malaya.

Over the last 3,000 miles, it seemed there were "just too many rivers and too few roads". But no-one really knew... In fact, their problems began much earlier than that. As mere undergraduates, they had no money, no cars, no nothing. But with a cool audacity, which was to become characteristic, they first coaxed the BBC to come up with film for a possible TV series. Then they gently "persuaded" Rovers to lend them two factory-fresh Land Rovers (it helps when you went to college with their cheif press officer). A publisher was even sweet-talked into giving them an advance on a book. By the time they were ready to go, their sponsors (more than 80!) ranged from whiskey distillers to the makers of collapsible buckets.


In late 1955 the six strangers, of which they were to each other had completed thier exams and had managed to plan an expedition in their spare time, they set off from Oxford and Cambridge and met just outside of London, enroute to Kent, but before crossing the channel they decided to stop for "one for the road" at the Grenideir on Hyde Park Corner (a small back street establishment still in business today) where they enjoyed scotch eggs and beer before saying final good byes to family and close friends and posing for the last press pictures.

They boarded their very own aircraft, a posh Silver City Airways flight kindly paid for by Rovers and half an hour later they were touring northern france. It wasn't long before they found their selves surrounded by press again in Paris. A part of their Rovers deal was that they were to seek as much publicity as possible, on this particular occasion all the French wanted them to do was something typically English, so they brewed up tea on the steps of the Eifel Tower.

Onwards west, into Germany where they experianced super brand new freshly tar-macked highways that were empty apart from the odd truck and into Yugoslavia where they learn't the valuable lesson to have a spare pack of cigaretts in your top pocket so they could be handed over to the border official for a sleek and swift signing of the papers. Down into Greece where the roads began to get poor and dusty and the going became slower, even camping was not much fun as one night they had all their forks and spoons stolen by scruffy village children who wouldn't leave them alone, but why didn't they take the knives ??? any way after a well planned ambush and a small bribe the managed to get all there kit back even if it did mean that in all the confusion they had mistakenly put the knives in one car and the forks and spoons all in the other.

Turkey was where every thing changed. Certian food became "advisable not to eat" and the way people lived was an eye opener. It was like being shown real destressing poverty but on a sort of breaking in scale, Espically once they were across the Bosporous. They didn't hang about in Turkey as they had a filming deadline to meet so it was striaght down to Syria to film the tremendous forts and castles that stood empty for thousands of years, battle scared and bruised.

From Syria there was no real road east but there was an Oil Pipeline that ran from Syrial to Iraq though so the decision was made to follow this and anfter a short while they discovered they were not alone. The brother's Nairn had designed a special type of bus that could cope with heavy loads and rough roads but its passengers could travel in relative comfort so they decide to tag along side - just incase any thing unfortunate happened, and its just as well they did as after a short period the Land Rovers rear suspension prooved to be to weak for the rough going so it was back to the Nairn bus workshops where the mechanics fitted extra leaves to the back springs. Something Rovers had said they wouldn't need. Perfect and off they trundled heading for Iraq, again,

The Oil Pipe line ends in Baghdad and from there after some brief filming they headed for Iran, a place calling their name. The Perians Army, (Iran was formerlly known as Persia) had insisted that if the Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition were to make it as far as Persia they were to stop by and show off their vehicles. So they did and after several days of showing off and putting the cars through their paces the Persian army turned round and placed an order with Rovers for 500 Land Rovers, however the old general still drove around in his war time Jeep....

Pakistan was hot and this is where for some of the expedition members their research plan started. The Thal Desert is a typical dry, dusty plain with nothing much more than tumble weed blowing around, but some how the Pakistani government had agreed to set up an irragation network spanning from the north to the south thus supplying water to families living in the Thal, A wonder still in practice today.

The Cambridge team - the non geographical lot decided to go on ahead and in Delhi they requested permits to drive on up to Kathmandu. Yes they could be granted the permits but Tim's name was on the log book of the Oxford car and they would not let it pass with out him present so a telegrem was sent for him to get a train to Delhi pronto. The First Overland team were the first people ever to drive to kathmandu and they were certianly the first ever people to film it. The roads were hand made and very poor and occasionly blocked by trucks who's operators had mistaken the bends and spun them out over the edge whilst the rest of the truck balanced like a pendulum. The people in Kathmandu acted like they had never seen white people before and were amazed by the teams zip up jackets, shaving mirrors and boiled sweets, which are handy when it comes to filming native children.

Back down to Delhi and onto Calcutta where it was now Christmas Eve. Brooke Bond Tea had kindly offered them the top floor of an office block for a few days to rest and celebrate. The Oxford lot arrived (late) claiming they had just navigated a complete new route across India.
They wanted to reach Darjeeling by New Years so they pointed the pair of cars, now back together, North and set off. Like in Kathmandu the tempreture began to drop and by the time the were in Darjeeling they had all donn'd pull overs and the heaters had been switched onto full.

Walking back Tim noticed a young white man studying the writing on the side of their cars, his name was Tim Mayhew and he owned a small tea eastate in the Teesta Valley to which he invited them all to stay, after a quick call to his wife. Over fresh hot tea, Tim Mayhew informed the team of the tigers that roamed in the jungles and valley's below, but i think they were more worried about the situation which lay ahead. Nigel wanted to see the infamous Tiger Hill sunrise at dawn, so he set off in the wee hours but sadly didn't make it due to not being able to negotiate the road alone. Brooke Bond's main Tea Estate was their next stop off, the had set this as their main base camp prior to leaving, it was where they could finally prepare for Burma.

They emptied the cars of all un nessacary kit, threw out the radios, and took aboard spade's machetties and rope. Now alot can be said for the successful crossing of Burma, i think the main fact that help them achieve this was the fact that it was an unusually dry and hot year and the rivers had not swolen to their normal size so fording them wasn't as bad as was expected. They saw ruby's being mined in Mogok and were given an escort from Lashio to Thailand, i say escort but i think it was more of a case of "your clapped out old jeeps keep breaking down so give us your guns and then you catch us up"

Thailand and Malaysia are two places that have changed the most since 1955. Where there once lay a freshly carved elephant track there is now a super highway. Major towns were not chocka with traffic and polution and as for sky scrapers, well what were they.

On through Kuala Lumpar and into Singapore city where six months, six days and 18,000 miles later, two very weary Land Rovers rolled into Singapore to flash-bulbs and champagne. Now, fifty years on, their bestselling book, First Overland, is republished with an introduction by Sir David Attenborough. After all, it was he who gave them that film.

They enjoyed 3 weeks R&R before shipping one car back to Rangoon and one to Calcutta en route back to London, after some fieldwork. They arrived back in August 1956. The same year Group Captain Peter Townsend set off on a repeat trip, ending in a round the world jaunt, thanks to much help from the Ox Cam team. Incidentally he also chose to use a series 1 Land Rover but had considerably more trouble.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Jasmine Flower Tea


Here is a picture of the delicious jasmine flower tea I enjoyed at one of our recent meetings.

Traditionally, flower-tea comes dried in a ball. However, as soon as you drop it into hot water, it opens it's petals.

Did you know that there exists a 'true' jasmine and a 'false' jasmine? To make sure you get the right one, look for oval, shiny leaves and tubular, waxy-white flowers.

...You wouldn't want to make a cup of tea with the 'false' plant as it is too poisonous for human consumption!

Saturday 20 March 2010

The Wonders of Natural Yoghurt

Ahh the humble yoghurt. Little did you know that this simple food could be your solution to travel sickness (according to my local GP!) Just make sure that the first thing you do in a new country is sample their live lactic goods and you'll be bug-free! ...Or so he says...

Welcome to our blog!

The Original Map
(Tim Slessor)

Welcome to our blog - the place where you can track the progress of First Overland 2010

Our three purposes:

1. Vision: To distribute self-adjustable specs to people in the developing world.

2. Documentary: To examine the effects of encroaching globalization on smaller communities and individuals.

3. Adventure: To embark on an adventure - the type that is hard to come by in 2010. In order to do this, we will meticulously re-trace the steps of 6 Oxbridge students who undertook this same expedition in 1955.

The Originals
(
Anthony Barrington Brown)